


The Journey Over The Horizon

by Aarky



Series: Splattering Muses (Tommy-centric MCYT AUs) [8]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Action/Adventure, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Antartic Empire, BAMF Niki | Nihachu, BAMF TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Baby Ranboo, Background Relationships, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Gen, Gods, Hurt GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Hybrid Alexis | Quackity, Hybrids, Kinda, Medical Inaccuracies, Medieval Medicine, Minecraft physics, No Beta We Die Like Endermen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Screaming our lungs out, Team as Family, dubious medical knowledge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:41:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 12,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28471050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aarky/pseuds/Aarky
Summary: Tommy lost his memories when he was 11, he is now 18, and the nuns of the church who raised him just revealed he might be a missing prince. On his journey home, he found more and more people missing their memories alongside him. Something deeper than him hitting his head might be the cause for the blanks. This ragtag group of amnesiacs will make it to the Antarctic Empire if it's the last thing they'll do.
Relationships: Cara | CaptainPuffy/Niki | Nihachu, Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone, Ranboo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone, Zak Ahmed/Darryl Noveschosch, maybe
Series: Splattering Muses (Tommy-centric MCYT AUs) [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023561
Comments: 67
Kudos: 823
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Green & Gold](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25879459) by [HognoseSnake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HognoseSnake/pseuds/HognoseSnake). 



" _Fine_! I'm counting now!"

Tommy heard his brother yell. He and his other brother scampered off into the forest to hide. As the numbers grew closer to twenty, Tommy felt dread speed him up and fluff his tail. No hiding spots came up as he continued running.

But then the ground wasn't under him anymore, and a flash of lime green entered his vision.

His body slammed into the dirt and rocks as he rolled down a steep hill. Liquid dribbled down his head as a rock hit the side of his head. Lifting a hand to try and wipe away the blood; only revealed his hand being fuzzily multiplied.

He heard his name being called from over the hill. Snow started to drift down, and as he opened his mouth to try and speak, it clogged his throat. His eyes slid shut as he fainted.

He came back to a cold hand resting against his forehead. Forcing his eyes open, Tommy caught the gaze of a woman standing over him.

"Hello, child. Do you know your name?" The woman spoke quietly.

"I... I." Tommy paused, thinking, before continuing.  
"It's Tommy."

"Do you know the names of your family?"

Tommy racked his brain but only darkness answered, "... I can't remember."

The woman started to consol him as sobs racked his body. Why was he crying? Was this grieving for people he can't even remember?

"My name is Sister Rosemary. If you want to, you can stay here while we search for your family."

Tommy nodded and pressed farther into her dress.

  
"DAD!"

Phil shot up from his desk as his sons, Wilbur and Techno, rushed in. He blanched, spotting the tears streaming down both of their faces. Phil kneeled and hummed, confused, to consol the teens.

"It's Tommy! We... can't find him!" Techno sobbed and paused slightly to gasp in a breath.

Phil felt dread coldly grip him as he mulled over Techno's words. He pulled both of them into a hug to let them press their sobs into his coat. Tears dripped down his face as he lifted his head to call for his guard.

Two stumbled in, and Phil immediately barked sharply at them, "Start a search party! My son Thomas has gone missing!"

Tommy was purposely kept out of the public eye; so he could move freely if he wanted to as an adult. How would they find a child no one has ever seen? Silently, Phil prayed to the goddess of journeys to guide his youngest home.


	2. Beginning his Trek

Tommy grew up among the nuns of the Starlight Church. They never pushed him religiously but still gave him stories of the goddess they followed, a goddess made of stars, Clara. As well as being the goddess of the day/night cycle, she also watched over adventurers.

On Tommy's eighteenth birthday, Sister Rosemary pulled him aside to show him a poster.

A young boy with short, messy hair stared back at him from beneath a stamp of the word 'missing.' He glanced back up at the nun, confused.

"We received this poster last week. Me, and the other nuns, believe you might be the missing prince the Antarctic Empire is, has been, looking for." She explained.

Tommy took the poster gently from her hands and stared at the palpable joy in the child's eyes. He ran a hand through his long blond hair.

"Why now? If they have been searching, then you would have seen posters when I was young." Tommy accused.

"We are too deep in Dream SMP lands for any outside news to reach us." She explained gently as hurt anger bubbled up in him.

He mulled over her words before turning away to blink away tears. Blinking them away, Tommy reached up to grip at the amulet he wore when he arrived.

"How far away is the border?"

"About a four days journey."

Tommy swore under his breath, "Well, if I'm not the prince, then maybe they will have an idea of who I  _ actually  _ am."

Sister Rosemary nodded in agreement, "But if you are..."

"Then I'll have found my fucking family."

She squawked at his swearing, but he only smirked in response.

"We'll prepare some bags for you to head out."

Tommy turned to glance out the window, "The moon will reach its peak soon."

"Then, we must hurry." With that, she hurried off.

He pattered back to his room to prepare a smaller bag of personal items. He placed his childhood bandana in as well as the poster. A few more things got thrown in before he closed it and stood.

A handful of nuns stood in his doorway, holding two bags. He grabbed both and swung one over his shoulder and the other around his waist. His small bag got placed on his hip as well.

The group led him down the main stairs and out the front door. Rosemary pulled out a compass from her pocket. She turned a few knobs on the base before handing it over.

"This will lead you to where you must go."

"The Empire's capital?"

"Maybe, or maybe somewhere you have to go to first."

"Thanks for being as vague as usual, Rosie." Tommy huffed.

The group called their goodbyes as Tommy headed out under the peak of midnight. The moonlight seemed to light his path as he walked.

A cold presence washed over his shoulders, and Tommy spat out a quick prayer to Clara.

He walked until he couldn't see the church on the horizon and then kept walking. Pulling out the compass, he watched the needle spin once, then twice, before stopping. It pointed confidently in the direction he was already moving in. 

He picked up his head to begin his journey over the horizon proudly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a story I've confidently outlined. I'm pretty excited about this one since worldbuilding is probably my favorite thing. I should have more uploads coming but my winter break is ending soon so uploads might slow down after the 5th. I hope you all will enjoy this as well! Green & Gold by HognoseSnake inspired some parts of the worldbuilding so go check that out. Romance will not be the main part of this story but you will get some moments. ROMANCE NOT INCLUDING TOMMY OR ANY MINORS IN THIS STORY.  
> YO HE SAID THE THING  
> Word Count: 539


	3. Accidental Baby Acquisition

Tommy continued walking for the rest of the night and well into the next day. He stopped to rest when the sun sat high in the sky and hit against his back aggressively.

He settled down under the single tree in the expanse of a plains biome. He brushed away leaves from an area he could sit. Taking a few sips from his waterskin, he let himself nod off.

A cool breeze woke him up an hour later. He blinked away sleep from his eyes and smacked his lips to remove the sleep-induced dry mouth. He turned his head to look through his bag only to find it opened and a few items strewn around.

He shot up to his knees to grab the bag. Pulling his things back into his pack, he glanced around to see if he could spot anyone in the rolling plains. Nothing stuck out in the green hills until he paused and looked up into the tree hanging over him.

Two mismatched eyes stared back at him from behind a wall of branches and leaves. He continued to stare before the kid let out a shriek and dropped down to start running.

"Ah! Get back here!" Tommy shouted and raced after the kid.

He chased the kid for a few minutes before he had to scoop the kid up before he fell off a sudden drop. The kid stared at the cliff; he would have been rolling down before glancing back at him. The two stared at each other for a few more minutes before the kid burst into tears and threw his arms around Tommy's neck.

"Woah! Hey, hey, what's happening?" Tommy stuttered and held the kid up; so he didn't fall.

The kid just sniffled as his sobs slowed.

"Uhh..." Tommy stared at the black and white hybrid sitting in his arms before moving back over to the tree his stuff was under.

He sat against the trunk of the tree and let the kid settle back down.

"Can I get your name, kid?" Tommy spoke softly despite the confusion on his face.

"...Ranboo."

"How 'bout where I can find your parents to return you to?"

Ranboo just started crying again, "I... I can't remember them! I can't remember anything!"

Tommy paused, "It's going to be ok, Ranboo. I can't remember anything, either."

He hoped that would help Ranboo calm down and focus on the fact they were in similar situations.

"Did you see the green light too?" Ranboo leaned back to stare seriously at him.

"I... yeah, I saw a flash of neon green light," Tommy whispered in shock.

"Where are you going? I followed you and saw you leaving the church."

"Why didn't you stay at the church? They would have cared for you."

The kid just shrugged, "Answer my question."

"The nuns at the church believe I might be the missing prince from the Antarctic Empire. So, I'm going to go there to find out if I am." Tommy plopped Ranboo down.

The hybrid's tail swished curiously before zoning in on Tommy's thin tail, "You're a hybrid!"

Tommy nudged Ranboo's grabbing hands away, "Yeah, yeah, none of the nuns could agree on what I was, though."

"Let me come with you!"

"No." Tommy answered truthfully before pulling his bags back on and starting back up his trek.

"Please! I promise I'll stay out of your way!"

The two continued to banter about Ranboo tagging along, and soon Tommy realized the kid had already been following for an hour. He sighed deeply and agreed, despite the fact he _really_ didn't want to have a kid with him on the journey.

Another hour passed with them walking before he spotted a village on the horizon. The two picked up speed to reach the town before the quickly setting sun.

Tommy scooped up Ranboo as they entered the bustling night market. He zoned in on a quaint bakery on the other side of the clearing. Speeding up his pace, Tommy opened the door to the shop and stepped in. The store doorbell chimed as he walked in and closed the door.

"I'll be with you in a second!" A voice piped up from the back of the store.

Ranboo looked around the shop as Tommy stepped up to the counter to look at the loaves of bread. They were only waiting for a few minutes when a woman can stumbling out of the back room, carrying a tray of fresh pastries.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! Now, what can I get you?" She slid the tray into the display case.

"Just some information. Is there a good inn in this town?"

"There's an inn in town... but I wouldn't stay there. The innkeeper's known for blackmail and scamming." She leaned against the counter and explained almost sadly.

"Do you have a map I can borrow?" He sighed and hefted Ranboo back up from where he was slipping.

"That depends. Can I get a name?" She leaned over to pull a roll of paper out of a barrel behind her.

"It's Tommy. Can I get yours, miss?"

"It's Niki. Don't call me miss; it makes me feel old." She tilted her head.

"And this one here?"

"I'm Ranboo!" Ranboo immediately sat up as Niki looked at him.

Niki smiled happily at the kid before spreading the rolled-up map across the counter. She stared at the map for a few seconds before her face scrunched up with confusion.

"I'm sorry. My memory isn't the best." She huffed and smiled nervously.

"Join the group. All of us lost our memories." Tommy laughed and leaned over the map.

"The green light stole them!" Ranboo swung his legs while still in Tommy's arms.

Tommy watched Niki physically paused before picking her head up and looking at him seriously.

"You lost your memories and saw a green light, too?"

"Too?" Tommy returned the grave look.

"I... I lost my memories seven years ago. I think... I recognize you two." Niki tilted her head before lifting a hand to rest it on Tommy's cheek.

"... Nihachu?" Tommy analyzed her face.

The edges of his vision swirled with green as memories pushed past the wall in his mind.

A girl stood over him with his brother next to her. She kneeled to help him up.

"Oh, Tommy. That fall must've hurt." She helped him to his feet.

Tears trickled down his young face. Looking at Niki, he realized he must be around six in the memory, and Niki must've been around fourteen.

The memory then shifted to Niki letting him help her with her baking. He was sitting on the counter, leaning over a bowl of cookie batter. His hands were sticky with the dough drying on his fingers. He was younger in this one, closer to four, maybe.

A few more memories washed over him, but he shook his head to leave them. Tommy felt the uncomfortably familiar feeling of tears. Niki seemed to be in a similar state, tears rushing down her face. They stared at each other before Niki moved around the corner.

She placed her hands on his cheeks before smiling excitedly, "Our missing prince?"

"I really am, aren't I?" He leaned into her embrace.

"I only saw snippets of you. Nothing about who I was or who I knew, but your royal outfit gave you away."

"You... worked in the palace kitchens, but my brother became your friend, so you moved fully into the castle."

Niki only hummed in response, "I have a horse and cart. That will help us move faster to the castle."

"I have a compass that'll lead us."

"Then, let me set up some sleeping cots. We'll start moving again in the morning."

She directed them into the back as she flipped the sign on the door. A staircase led them up into the house part of the shop. After helping her layout a cot, he helped Ranboo change into some PJs. The younger curled up in Tommy's arms and fell asleep.

Tommy followed Ranboo into sleep.

_Ranboo has been added to your party!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just... can't help but add baby Ranboo. Also, Niki reveal OWO. Maybe something stole their memories and not an accident??? Who knows? These past few chapters have been dialog heavy but I promise I'll get into some interesting shit soon. Tommy does not want child but child doesn't take no for an answer. Tommy wants to swear but child exists near him so he mustn't. No, I will no specify what kind of hybrid he is. Not right now. THE PLOTHOLES ARE THERE TO ALLOW THE CHARACTERS TO BREATH LIKE A KITTEN IN A BOX.  
> Ages are prolly wonky but here:  
> Currently:  
> Niki: 22  
> Tommy: 18  
> Ranboo: 10
> 
> When memories were taken  
> Niki: 15  
> Tommy: 11  
> Ranboo: 3
> 
> Word Count: 1,345


	4. Kicking ass? Pog?

Niki woke them up bright and earlier the next morning. She wanted him to help her shop for supplies before they left. She had also fashioned him a child carrier out of a strip of wool. Ranboo fell asleep against his back about five minutes into the shopping trip.

They had been shopping for an hour when they stopped by a notice board. Niki stopped to pull a poster from where it got tacked on. Tommy leaned over her shoulder to stare at the green paper.

It was a piece of propaganda.

Of someone who looked _weirdly_ familiar.

Niki continued to stare at the poster for a few more seconds before she appeared to zone out.

"I... I know this person. But I don't know if in a good way." She explained before folding up the paper and stuffing it in her bag.

"Don't force yourself now, big man."

"Big man?" She asked incredulously as they started to move again.

Tommy refused to answer and just shrugged in response instead. After another half hour of shopping, they headed back to the bakery.

He collected his meager supplies back up and helped Niki stock the cart. He let her harness the horse up to the cart as he put down blankets for Ranboo to sleep on. After she finished tying the horse up, Niki helped him take Ranboo out of the carrier.

She stopped shuffling things around to duck into her house. She came back to place a large case behind the seat. After everything got settled, Tommy pulled himself up onto the seat next to Niki. She smiled at him and spurred the horse to move.

The road was decently smooth until it became bumpy as they entered the countryside. After around ten minutes of driving, Niki turned to pull something out of her bag.

"Some adventurers brought gossip into town today. Apparently, the Antarctic Empire is setting up a gala with the Dream SMP royalty." She showed a poster of the report. It was obviously not originally from the Dream SMP.

"Fuck yeah! I'm all for a dramatic entrance. Oh, take the left path up here." Tommy laughed then showed Niki his compass so she could follow it.

Niki burst out laughing before moving the cart onto the path as they reached the fork in the road.

They continued on the road for four more hours before Niki pulled the cart to a stop; so they could set up camp. Ranboo had been awake for most of the last half of the drive, so he got pulled into helping.

Half-way through setting up the camp, Niki shot to the side to dodge an attack from an advancing zombie. A few more groaned in the distance and started to approach. Ducking under another hit, she turned towards him and pointed to the case in the cart.

He raced over to unclip the latches on the case. A gleaming trident stared back at him as he pulled the top away. Gripping the weapon, he turned and tossed it towards Niki's outstretched hands.

After catching it, she whipped around the stab the trident into the zombie's head. Its head was crushed under the strength of the blow, and after it hit the ground, Niki turned to the other approaching mobs.

"Set up a perimeter of torches. I'll be right back." She giggled before launching off into the fray.

He watched her take down a few more mobs before he turned to take out a handful of torches. Scooping Ranboo up, he laid down a circle of torches around the camp and sat in the middle. He consoled the nervously whimpering Ranboo.

The distant groaning and rattling of bones faded after a few minutes. Niki returned a few seconds after the silence started. Her hands, and trident, were coated with blood, and she walked past them to the cart. 

Hopping up onto the back, she smiled as she cleaned her weapon and hands with a cloth. Ranboo looked over at Niki and turned away to bury his face in Tommy's shoulder. Tommy burst out laughing; at the surprised expression on Niki's face.

After a few minutes, Niki couldn't help but laugh along as she settled into her spread out sleeping cot. Tommy pulled up the blanket as Ranboo started to giggle along with them. Sleep followed soon after.

_Nihachu has been added to your party!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Niki pog! She's kicking ass!! AS SHE SHOULD. Please I beg you let these characters go feral!!! Our next stop is exciting OwU. The mobs are probably gonna be back for some of that GOOD WRITING PRACTICE for fights. We got two more sons of bitches to pick up before heading to the empire ;)  
> TALL TOMMY TALL TOMMY  
> Word Count: 724  
> Shorter chapters but hopefully I can get it up to a thousand words per chapter.


	5. Injuries (Both physical and mental)

The next day's cart ride was just as dull as the first one. Ranboo kept them somewhat entertained by almost falling off the cart multiple times. At some point, Niki got so fed up with Ranboo, almost hurting himself, that she leaned over to pick him up and plop him in between herself and Tommy.

They had a full day of driving again before they stopped beside a small stream to stretch their legs. Tommy was a few paces away from the rest, getting firewood: when he heard shouts. Clutching his axe harder, he raced back over to where Niki and Ranboo were playing.

He entered the clearing to see Niki standing in front of Ranboo, hefting her trident up to the approaching group of Endermen. Tommy immediately turned his gaze to the two.

"Did anyone look at them?" He asked as he tried to shuffle over to the huddled group.

"I think I did on accident."

After Niki answered, he heard the telltale sound of an Endermen unhinging its jaw to screech. Tommy lurched forward as Niki shouted as one of them shot out a hand and attacked her. He lugged his axe and sliced the arm of the Enderman off.

The rest of the mobs reacted by also shrieking at the trio. Niki kneeled to hold her bloodied arm against her body. Tommy hefted up his weapon to prepare for a fight, but Ranboo launched past him.

The kid threw out his arms and screeched back at the taller mobs. His dual-colored fur puffed with rage and his mismatched eyes flashed.

Ranboo's jaw unhinged too far to be human, and a bloodcurdling scream came out for a second time. The opposing mobs backed away.

They continued to shuffle away, and once they were completely out of view, Tommy turned to check on Niki. She sat heaving and curled around the injury on her forearm. He ducked down to pulled her to her feet.

Leaning against his side, Niki was led to the cart and placed onto a cleared space.

Tommy shuffled through the med-kit they had prepared and grabbed the bottle of vodka Niki had jokingly packed. He poured some onto his hands and grabbed a bottle of water. Gently, he began to clean some of the blood off while applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

Once the bleeding slowed, he hurried to prepare an ointment and dressings. Peeling back his hand, he quickly spread the cream Niki had packed against the wound. A few layers of bandages were lain out before being wrapped tightly in the gauze.

Niki had since then caught her breath and started taking gentle sips from the vodka he had moved away.

"We should start heading for a village soon," Tommy explained while helping Ranboo help Niki to lay down.

Niki just hummed in response and ran a hand through Ranboo's hair as he settled down next to her.

Tommy hopped up onto the seat and spurred the horse forward. It was another half hour until a castle came looming over the hill. He silently nudged the horse to move faster.

As the cart drew nearer and nearer, a guard began walking over to them. He pulled the cart to a stop and leaned over to talk to the approaching guard.

"State your business." The man spoke abruptly and had an underlying tone of annoyance.

"I've got a child and an injured woman with me. We seek shelter and medical help." Tommy explained nervously.

"You will find no help here. This is private land, so I expect you to leave." The guard spat back at him.

Tommy opened his mouth to argue but got silenced by an approaching figure.

"Oh, come on, Augustus. If someone in your party is injured, then we'd be happy to help." The new figure stood leaning on one leg. 

An intricate dress folded beautifully across his figure, and a blood-red cape pooled over his shoulders. The crown on his head gleamed in the light as he turned and beckoned Tommy and his cart into the castle grounds.

"My name is Eret. Can I get yours?" Eret asked gently as he glanced at Niki and Ranboo.

"I'm... Tommy. Those two are Niki and Ranboo. Thank you for taking us in, or whatever." Tommy grumbled but thanked the man anyway.

"Leave your cart here. The stable hands will take great care of it all."

Tommy glanced around nervously but hopped off the cart anyway. He rounded the side and scooped up Ranboo when he came bounding across the wood.

A group of three people approached the cart, holding a stretcher. He watched Niki get smoothly transferred onto the bed and rushed into the building.

He moved to follow, but Eret held out a hand to politely stop him.

Eret led them into the castle, but not in the same direct Niki was taken. Instead, the two got taken into a long corridor lined with rooms. Eret held out a hand to motion towards one of the doors.

Shoving open the door, Tommy stepped into a grand and lavish room.

"We don't have much over in isolation, but we do have some nice things. I do hope you enjoy your stay before you leave." Eret spoke politely and curtly.  
He paused before leaving, "The maids will give you any new information on Niki's care."

Tommy nodded shortly in response and watched Eret stepped out and shut the door behind him.

Once the man's footsteps faded off, Tommy let out a sigh of relief and plopped Ranboo down onto the bed.

Ranboo answered with a giggle and rolled across the bed to curl onto one of the pillows. Tommy paced the room for a while before he tired himself out and laid down next to Ranboo.

He ran his hand through the hybrid's mismatched hair before nodding off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to go on with this chapter but my outline said no soooo... You gotta wait now losers. Anyway! I'm pretty sure Eret's pronouns are He/They so I'll probably switch between those two. I hope you enjoyed it and don't trust me with medical shit. I did minor research but still...  
> Word count: 976


	6. The puppet king and his castle

Tommy woke up to gently knocks on the bedroom door and frantic nudges in his side. Forcing his eyes open, Tommy's gaze landed on the practically catatonic Ranboo. Almost immediately, he sat up to pull the hybrid closer to him. 

"They've been knocking for so long, and I don't know..." Ranboo trailed off as he pushed his face deeper into Tommy's cloak.

In response, Tommy turned towards the door, "What do you want?"

The knocking stopped, "His majesty, King Eret, requests you for breakfast."

"We'll be out in a sec.!" Tommy shouted back.

Footsteps faded away down the hallway before he turned back towards the slowly quieting Ranboo. Tommy pulled himself up and out of the bed and scooped Ranboo up as he went.

In a few quick movements, Ranboo had pulled on nicer clothes, had his hair fixed, and face gently washed. Tommy followed through with his own routine, and once he finished, they were moving quietly through the halls. They were pointed towards a grand dining hall.

Eret sat at the far end, their hands folded neatly on their lap. Niki sat to the right of him, and they seemed to be in deep conversation. Moving to settle to Eret's left, Tommy exchanged a look with Niki.

"Ah, Tommy and Ranboo. We were waiting for you to arrive! Luckily, with the help of my healers, Niki was restored to perfect health." Eret spoke happily, either ignoring or ignorant to the tension in the hall.

Tommy stayed quiet and simply ate his food.

Niki drew Eret back into a conversation where she pried for information. Albeit behind fluffy and feathery words.

"Not much happens around here. To be honest, I don't even  _ know why  _ I'm the king of such a desolate land." Eret sighed.

"I'm another of Our Supreme Leader's puppets, I suppose."

"Supreme Leader?" Niki questioned.

"Our Supreme Leader, Dream. Dictator-" Eret coughed the last word, "Leader of Dream SMP."

The traveling group paused at the name drop. Memories tried to bypass Tommy's head, but he only chugged his water to quell his growing migraine.

A servant came racing in, "Our Supreme is on his way now!"

Eret went silent before abruptly turning towards the servant, "Prepare our guests' cart to leave at once! With hast, please!"

The servant disappeared, and Eret lurched to her feet. The rest of them slowly rose and followed the rushing King.

"I apologize for the rush, but Dream must not know you are,  _ were, _ here."

"Who the hell is Dream? What's happening?" Tommy picked Ranboo up to keep pace.

"You have no memories, yes?"

At their nods of confirmation, Eret continued.

"The reason for your memory loss runs deeper than a simple accident. If Dream gets his hands on the Prince of the Antarctic Empire, Princess Nihachu, and Crown Prince Ranboo, then we are truly doomed."

"Woah, Woah! Back up, what were all those titles!?" Tommy hollered.

"You are incredibly important people, and losing your memories affected the Empire politically and physically."

Eret turned and held out long, dark cloaks for each of them to wear. Tommy pulled his on and hid Ranboo beneath it.

They got led to their cart, and a young man stood waving them over.

"This is Quackity. Just like you, he is an important piece in all this and an amnesiac." Eret explained with a smile.

"At this point, we should just start a club." Quackity's chest heaved with his laughter.

"He will help you on your journey home."

"Welcome to the party, fellow amnesiac." Tommy dipped his head jokingly.

Quackity returned the gesture and hopped into the back of the cart. He got handed Ranboo, and the two buried themselves under blankets to hide.

Niki and Tommy jumped up to the driver's seats and spurred the horse to move. They were just out of the main gates when a group of knights on horseback approached the castle grounds.

Passing by, Niki and Tommy dipped their heads to who they assumed to be Dream. The figure draped in green stared at them; the eyes of his porcelain mask cut holes in Tommy's soul.

"Dream! Welcome! What is the reason we deserve your appearance today?" He heard Eret desperately try to capture Dream's attention.

For a split second, Tommy almost thought Dream would stop them, but instead, he turned back to the puppet king.

As the castle disappeared over the hill, Tommy let out a deep breath to calm himself.

_ Quackity has been added to your party! _

\----

Seven years ago, Dream thought he would finally have the upper hand against The Antarctic Empire. The stolen memories sat pretty on his desk, but the people those memories belonged to disappeared with them.

Rumors were everywhere in his SMP, and most led to dead-ends and disappointment.

He  _ would  _ find The Antarctic Empire's playing pieces if that's what it took for his Queen to return.

The Antarctic Empire stole his Queen, so he stole their Rook, Knight, Bishop, and Pawn to leave them bare.

_ But what if his Queen left because of a power higher than The Antarctic Empire? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, my winter break is officially over now, so expect slower updates! Just a heads up. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter bc Eret is hard to write considering I don't watch him that often. I hope I did them justice! I also was informed that they go by any pronouns so I switched between some a little. ENTER QUACKITY!!! Who's Dream's Queen piece? I don't know (DON'T CHECK THE TAGS CHEATER!!!) Sometimes my writing program decides to work but most of the time it's an asshole so sorry for mistakes. All my love! Goodnight!  
> Word Count: 845


	7. Two Lovers

After an hour of driving, Quackity and Ranboo had moved out from under their cover. Quackity leaned against the back of the drivers' seats. He helped them keep Ranboo's excited energy down by playing and joking with the kid. Despite not  _ 'knowing' _ each other, Quackity easily slid into the dynamic of the group.

On the compass's path, they followed, a wide area of the dark forest grew. Fog unnaturally seeped out from between the wood; they stayed away from the shade.

As the sun began to set, a simplistic-looking village came over the hill. Smoke poured out of a few of the chimneys on houses. Niki had Tommy pull the cart to a stop just as they entered the town.

She told them to stay before she raced off into the village. He zoned out when she explained why, so he just trusted her to figure it out.

The night chill started to hit, and Tommy scooped up Ranboo the wrap him in a cloak. Ranboo leaned onto his shoulder and started to doze.

Quackity leaned against the side of a house, "What was she going to do? I zoned out."

"Me too, Big Q. Me too." Tommy chuckled.

"Big... Q?"

"Consider it a nickname or whatever."

Quackity paused to think before nodding, "Fuck, yeah! I love it."

"Quackity, there's kids around!"

Quackity burst out laughing and held his hands up to apologize.

A half an hour passed before Niki came skipping back over to them. A young man around her height followed slowly behind her.

"Tommy, Quackity! This is Bad, and he's giving us a place to stay for the night." Niki smiled happily and pointed to the hooded figure.

"Hi! I heard you have a kiddo?" Bad tilted his head as he led them and their cart into town.

"Uh, yeah, this is Ranboo," Tommy spoke curtly, ignoring Niki's glare.

"Cute! I live with a... roommate, and we have some extra rooms for you to stay in." Bad seemed to ignore the annoyance radiating off Tommy. He seemed to hesitate to say the word 'roommate.'

"Is the border of Dream SMP here?" Quackity piped up from the back, shuffling up to stand next to Bad.

"Yep! The border is right through the forest, but you're a muffinhead if you think you can make it through."

"... A what?" Quackity paused to stare at Bad.

"A muffinhead." Bad stated, unbothered.

Before Quackity could begin to tease Bad, they had arrived at the house. Niki and Tommy pulled the cart to the side of the house before returning to the group. They hung back a few feet as Bad stepped up to the door to pull it open. Following him in, they glanced around the quaint decor.

Bad dipped into the kitchen only for excited chatter to start up. He returned shadowed by a slightly short man.

"This is Niki and her friends!" Bad smiled and motioned towards the group.

The other man just hummed and analyzed the group.

"I can hand over some cots for you to put up in the other room! Oh, and this is Skeppy." Bad clapped his hands and led them to a side room.

It was mostly empty except for a few small pieces of furniture and things on the walls. Bad stepped over to a linen wardrobe in the corner and pulled out a few rolled-up cots.

Niki got handed the bed, and she turned around to hand a few around. Bad stood in the doorway and spoke quietly to Niki and then to Skeppy.

He closed the door behind him, and Tommy immediately turned towards Niki.

"Who are they, and why can we trust them?" He tried to interrogate.

Niki just brushed off his tone, "He's nice, and his husband is supposedly a retired knight."

"That gives me more reason to distrust them!"

Niki just leveled him with an unimpressed stare, "Play nice. Bad said he might be able to give us info on how to breach the forest."

"Also, what kind of name is Bad?" Quackity whisper from helping tuck Ranboo in.

"Short for BadBoyHalo," Niki explained.

"That's even weirder." Quackity tried to quiet his laughter but failed.

The group settled into their cots, and Tommy curled next to Ranboo. Ranboo buried his head into Tommy's chest, and he purred in response. Reaching back Tommy pulled his long hair out of the ponytail to lay comfortably.  


No matter how much his nervous fought, sleep claimed him quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOO BOOIII. I've never written Bad or Skeppy so they might be a bit OOC... Sorry. Anyway, another reminder that updates might slow but also might speed up bc I really want to continue writing so I have absolutely no idea. You don't know my upload schedule and neither do I. That between god and no one else, not even me. TWO LOVER FORBIDDEN FROM ONE ANOTHER A WAR DIVIDES THEIR PEOPLE


	8. The Queen's Gambit

The next morning, Bad sat down with them to explain the path through the forest. Skeppy stood in the kitchen, silently listening in.

"The forest wasn't always like that! Seven years ago, a _spirit_ settled in and became aggressive to anyone who enters." Bad spread out a small map of the village and woods.

"Has anyone ever made it through?" Quackity piped up.

"One or two adventures have returned to the village claiming they got through, but no one is sure." Bad explained with a shrug.

"So, what's our path?" Tommy leaned over the map.

"I can lead you to the entrance, and some people claim that if you just avoid the fog, you can make it through."

"Alright, so ignore the _magical spirit_ , and then we get through. Sounds easy." Quackity teased sarcastically.

"Ah! Be serious, you muffinhead! You could get hurt in there!" Bad huffed.

"We're already packed up. If you could lead us to the entrance, that would be great!" Niki interjected.

Bad clapped happily and stepped away to get dressed for the walk.

A few minutes later, Bad and Skeppy led them out of the town and towards the treeline. They stood back a few feet and pointed towards an opening in the forest.

As they entered the woods, they heard Skeppy speak up from behind them.

"Treat him nicely! He can't remember shit either!" Skeppy lifted a hand, ignoring the shout of 'language' from Bad.

They couldn't be confused for very long as the fog closed their exit behind them.

Bad turned towards Skeppy, "They really trust blindly, huh?"

  
\----

  
Moving blindly through the mist, they latched hands to stay together. They moved deeper into the forest, and soon the fog became suffocating. The group had to pause because Tommy collapsed from the thick air blocking him from breathing.

Niki moved to help him, but she fainted down next to him. The rest of them shortly followed, dropping like flies from the suffocating air.

Black spots filled the edges of Tommy's vision. Right before dropping off, he saw a blurry figure walk up in front of him.

  
\----

  
Waking up, Tommy rolled over and fell from the bed like a bag of bricks. Groaning, he flinched violently as a figure stood over him.

"You good?" The man asked while leaning over him.

"Who the fuck are you?" Tommy asked groggily and looked around the room.  
"Where the FUCK are the people I was with?"

"They're fine, and in another room."

"Why am I separate? Am I that special?" Tommy grinned.

"Shush. I... kinda recognize you."

"Can I get a name before important plot gets dropped on me?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Lemme start. I'm Tommy. Who are you?" Tommy spoke slowly, sarcastically.

"Uh, my name is George."

"Hmmm, you're kinda familiar. Do you lose your memories seven years ago?"

"I, yes, how did you-"

"I am, unfortunately, seeing a pattern in the people I meet."

"Mhmm, so I assume you are trying to get across to The Antarctic Empire?"

"You know it!"

"Well, I got told to wait here and guard this place. That's the last memory I have."

"That's a bitch move. Let us through!"

"No." George spoke unapologetically.

"BITCH! I can help you get your memories back!"

George paused as he walked towards the exit of the room. He turned back slowly.

"How can you do that?" His voice dropped towards seriousness.

Tommy, of course, would, and could never be serious, "Everybody in my group has memories surrounding the people in The Antarctic Empire. Do you have those?"

George paused again, then sighed, "Fine. I can help you through. But only if I can tag along."

"Holy fuck! It's that easy to convince people!?" Tommy whisper-shouted to himself.

George stared at him before snorting and laughing. After George collected himself, Tommy got led to the room across from his, where the group was sitting in a circle, playing cards.

"Yo! What the fuck! How come I got interrogated, and no one else did!?" Tommy shouted, fakely offended.

"Oh, we did, but we all threw you under the bus as our leader," Niki spoke up with a smile.

Tommy gasped sarcastically, "You guys see me as a leader?"

He ignored the fake glares he got to scoop up the happily running over Ranboo. Ranboo giggled happily before the room turned towards George, who cleared his throat.

"We can leave in five minutes if you're ready," George spoke quickly before walking out at the nodding head.

The room went silent before Quackity suddenly looked up.

"FUCK! We forgot our horse and cart!"

The room responded with a resounding "LANGUAGE!"

Before they fell into silence as they suddenly understood the words spoken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOO! No, I did not steal this title shush... Anyways I love writing Tommy just suddenly breaking the fourth wall. GOGY!!! And 'subtle' skephalo. Maybe Bad and Skeppy recognized them??? I can write comedy I promise!!! I hope you enjoy!!  
> Words: 784


	9. Your old mentor, oh brother of mine

George pulled together packs of adventuring material in record time. Tommy and the rest of the group had only been waiting for ten minutes when he returned. Each person got their own bags.

George, obviously, lived in a forest and did not have a cart or horses. So for the rest of the journey, they would be on foot. A few people didn't care, but Quackity and Ranboo complained a lot. Their whines got ignored quickly.

So, as the sun rose the next day, they started the two-day-long trek to the Empire's capital. Ranboo got carried on Tommy's back for most of the beginning, but he soon became restless and was put down to walk. They stopped for a bit, and Quackity perked up.

"I can fly ahead and see if there's anything around!" Quackity jumped up to ask Niki.

"Can you fly?" Niki leaned away slightly from Quackity's grasp.

"YES, I CAN, ASSHOLE!" He shouted in response before running a little bit away.

Quackity shucked off his jacket and turned back around in his tank top. He threw out his arms to the side as a rush of flames rushed out from his back. The fire receded to reveal bright golden wings sprouting from his shoulder-blades.

He crouched down as his wings rotated to take off. The group threw up their arms to block their faces as a blast of air from the take-off almost swept them off their feet.

Quackity soared up into the air, a few licks of fire floating down from the feathers as he moved. Tommy whooped and raced to follow the now gliding ahead Quackity. The rest of the group ran with him.

Ranboo got scooped up by Tommy before he began running. They slowed to a canter as Quackity sped up in the sky.

A few minutes past and Quackity became a small blip of gold in the sky. A little bit later, he freefell back towards the ground before sweeping his wings open to catch himself. His feet gently touched the ground, and he turned towards the group.

"A house! I saw a house, cabrón!" Quackity smiled and pointing towards where he flew.

"Just a single house?" Niki huffed, leaning her arms on her thighs.

"Just one! It had a farm around it too."

"How long of a trek do you think it'll be?" George asked, covering his eyes slightly to see where the sun was.

"Maybe five minutes, or ten."

"Then let's get moving." George brushed past Quackity with a small smile.

The group whooped at the idea of warm beds and continued down the rough path. Niki shivered from the cold air and took Ranboo from Tommy, who held him out. She moved his cloak around to wrap the front slightly around Ranboo.

Ten minutes passed, and over the hill came a spiral of smoke from a chimney. Around the house were rolling fields filled with wheat and a few other crops. A figure with midnight blue hair stood raking a hoe through the dirt.

Once Tommy spotted the man, a rush a familiarity washed over him.

They moved closer to the man, and Tommy leaned over a fence to shout, "Squid!?"

The man paused, "Well, it's been a while since I've been called that. Who are you."

Squid spoke without looking at him, but once he looked up to spot Tommy he dropped his hoe.

"Your highness? Wha..." Squid sputtered.

"Holy shit! It's fucking Squid-Kid!" Tommy burst out laughing.

"I thought your name was Kelpe?" George spoke confusedly.

"Yeah, but that name's boring as shit." Tommy waved off George.

Squid rushed over to where the group was standing by the posts. Reaching Tommy, he jumped the fence to circle Tommy and look him over.

"The world has been looking for you, kid!" Squid almost whispered.

"Well, if you recognize me, then that must mean the people in the empire will."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I... lost my memories seven years ago, Squid," Tommy explained.

"Oh, that must be why you disappeared. Do you remember the accident that took your memories?"

"I'm starting to think it wasn't an accident," Tommy spoke bitterly.

"What drew you to that conclusion?"

"The rest of this group can't remember anything either, and they also saw a flash of green."

Squid hummed and looked the group over before pausing in shock. He lifted a hand to point at the people, sputtering wildly.

"Holy shit!" He choked out.

"You recognize us?" Niki asked sweetly.

"Who are we? Do we have cool titles or some shit?" Quackity asked excitedly.

"Well, you're Princess Nihachu from Feyaland. Your brother, Crown Prince Ranboo." Squid pointed at Niki, then down at Ranboo, who sat in her arms.

"Princess..?" Niki whispered.

Squid continued, pointing to Quackity next, "King Alex of the Pheonix Clans."

Quackity choked on his spit at the news.

Squid then pointed towards George, "Ambassador George. Second-in-command to Dictator Dream."

George swore under his breath and covered his mouth with one hand.

Squid then finally turned to Tommy, "Prince Theseus Watson. Son of Emperor Philza Watson and brother to Crown Prince Technoblade and Prince Wilbur Soot."

"Theseus?" Tommy asked.

"Well, everyone called you Tommy anyway despite your real name being Theseus." Squid explained.

"Wait! Didn't you know Techno?" Tommy looked up to ask.

"Yeah! The little gremlin declared a potato war on me when he was eleven because he was competitive." Squid chuckled.

"How old were you?"

"I was sixteen at the time, and a tiny eleven year old glaring up at me was the most intimidating thing I ever saw."

The group burst out laughing at the story, and Squid couldn't help but laugh along with them.

The sun began to approach the horizon, and Squid turned around to watch it dip behind the horizon. He turned back towards the group and motioned towards the house.

"Can I offer you a place to stay tonight?" Squid bowed sarcastically and chuckled at the laughs he got in response.

"I only just learned I was royalty, so you better believe I'm going to abuse that power," Tommy shouted happily, and the group followed Squid up to his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Squid-kid. I will give characterization to him briefly. I don't really know how to write him so he will be disappearing after this chapter LOL. Say hi and then bye! Also some official titles of our gang. o7 almost home gang ;)  
> Sorry for any mistakes as always.  
> Word count: 1,026


	10. The Caged Bird Sings

After Squid-kid so graciously allowed them to spend the night in his house, he pointed them in the direction of the capital. They walked most of the day and stopped to rest at a fork in the road. As they were taking their break, a figure came walking on the path.

He wore a cloak, but no hood covered his face, and twin horns curled around his ears. Pattering over, he stood in front of the sitting Tommy.

"Hello! You all look like you've been traveling for a while, huh." He spoke eloquently, but Tommy couldn't help but be irked.

"Yeah, you could say that." Niki slid easily into the conversation.

She brought the man's attention away from Tommy and towards her.

"Well, are you interested in doing some business?" He smiled.

"Can we get your name first, stranger?" Niki teased, but Tommy could tell she was losing patience.

"Schlatt. My name is JSchlatt. May I get yours?"

"I'm Niki, now what's that business you were talking about?"

"Now, a friend of mine needs some help moving a few items. I can pay you handsomely for helping you."

"What kind of payment?"

As Niki asked this, Tommy heard movement behind him. Turning slightly to look over his shoulder: Schlatt's words prefaced the incoming attack.

"You can keep your lives." Schlatt grinned wickedly, and invisible people descended onto the scene.

Tommy was wiped out quickly, with a jab to the back of his head. Niki whipped around to run, but she got knocked out swiftly.

At the edge of the area, George scooped up Ranboo and grabbed an invis potion from the belt of one of the attackers. Some of the attackers had faded back into visibility, and they all had potions strapped to their belts.

Pouring it over himself and Ranboo, they moved quickly away from the scene. He raced down the path towards the capital, and glancing back: he saw the group get hauled off. He stopped looking back; and continued on.

He let out a breath of relief as the towers of the castle came into view.

\----

Tommy woke up in a metal cage. It jostled slightly as the cart it got placed on moved down the road. He didn't focus on that, though, instead focusing on the pounding headache he awoke to.

The rest of the group was in the cage as well, each in varying degrees of consciousness.

Dream sat in front of the locked door, lounging across a plush chair.

Tommy was honestly more confused on why there was a fancy chair on the cart in the first place. He got pulled out of his thoughts when Dream spoke up.

"I knew I'd find you all, eventually." His voice was coy with underlining cruelty.

"You're that bitch that was at Eret's castle." Tommy spat but immediately regretted it when he got leveled with a harsh glare.

"I'm flattered, really. You all are my perfect trump card against The Empire." Dream tilted his head.

Tommy just weakly glared at the man's porcelain mask.

"You are husks of who you used to be. Who knew those memories of yours would affect you so much."

Niki gasped next to him and lurched to her feet. All of their hands had gotten chained onto a hook in the middle of the floor. Niki couldn't even reach the door before the chains stopped her.

She growled, "You bastard! You stole them from us!"

Dream seemed to tilt his head impossibly more before chuckling.

"You stole something from me, so I stole something from you." He explained slowly: as if talking to a child.

"What did we steal?" Niki sank to her knees and begged uselessly.

"YOU STOLE GEORGE FROM ME! You filled his head with lies!" Dream lurched forward and grabbed Niki by her hair.

"What are you-"

"Now that I have your entire group in my clutches, The Empire will stand no chance. That kid, Ranboo, can go rot in a ditch for all I care."

Once he finished speaking, Tommy realized something Dream didn't. Dream didn't see George when his goons attacked them. He still believed George was either dead or in The Empire. The rest of the group seemed to come to the same conclusion, as they all kept their mouths shut.

"Your strength and powers will fight for  _ me  _ now. No one else." Dream hissed cruelly.

He dropped Niki and turned to lay across the chair again. He started, what Tommy assumed to be, laughing at seemingly nothing.

"I can imagine it now. Feyaland's top warrior, the ocean's rage, Nihachu fighting for me." Dream looked away to laugh harder. He continued.

"The Empire's darling son, Prince Theseus."

"The phoenix king, Alex."

"I actually prefer Quackity nowadays." Quackity lifted his head to smile.

Dream leaned forward to speak but got cut off by a man trotting over on horseback.

"Dream, we're gonna be approaching the border soon." The man spoke loudly, almost jokingly.

"Thank you, Sapnap." Dream dipped his head slightly before turning back towards the cage.

"Wonderful news, isn't it?"

\----Meanwhile----

Okay, so maybe George didn't exactly think this through. He swore under his breath as he trudged through the crowded market place. Finally, he reached the other side of the clearing and stood before a long bridge leading to the castle.

Green banners waved gently in the air alongside cool blue tones. Posters lined the walls and corkboards of the towns about the upcoming gala. Individuals also seemed to be setting up their own decorations for the soon to be arrive SMP member.

If only they knew.

Oh wait, they would.

People walked across the bridge both ways; he could see more residential areas on the other side. He walked nervously across the stone, Ranboo sitting piggy-back style.

The guards ignored him mostly until he reached the giant front doors. One stepped up as he approached.

"State your business." The guard spoke courteously.

"I need to speak the Emperor Philza," George explained and kneeled slightly to place Ranboo down.

"I apologize, but his Imperial Majesty isn't taking any requests for council."

"I have information about his missing son, Theseus?"

The guard paused but shook his head, "Please leave the premises."

George blinked before growing worried, "Please! I need to speak to him!"

The guard looked somewhat sorry, but he still motioned for him to leave.

George, suddenly, rushed past the guard and towards the open doors. The one guard rushed him and grabbed him away. A few more guards came running over and grabbed him and Ranboo more.

They got hauled into the castle, and George smirked under his dipped head. He held a hand out and pulled the crying Ranboo towards him.

They got moved through the long hallways of the palace and were held in place before a pair of doors. One guard leaned into the cracked open doors to speak.

"Your Imperial Highness? Someone attempted to break into the castle to approach you. We apprehended them-"

The guard was cut off by George rushing past and throwing the doors open.

Three enraged people stared back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No comment.  
> The next few chapters might be delayed because I'm fighting with my writer's block incoming and DAMN THIS WRITER'S BLOCK GOT HANDS  
> Sorry for any mistakes. Goodnight, stay safe.  
> Word Count: 1,136


	11. I wanted rain, so I made god cry

George leaned back slightly to tug Ranboo next to him as he began to walk into the room. A few guards lurched forward to grab him but got waved off by who he assumed to be, Philza.

"I am impressed. Many people don't make it this far. What. Do. You. Want." Phil's speech started politely but moved towards deadly.

George swallowed nervously but held his ground, "Your son, Theseus Watson, has been captured by Dream."

The room went silent.

The brown-haired man to Phil's right growled, "How dare you come here spreading false information. Theseus has been dead for seven years!"

"Then how come Tommy was  _ just  _ spouting about  _ Techno  _ being mentored by  _ Squid _ - _ kid _ ." George spit-balled, hoping they would believe him.

"How-" The third man tried to speak up, but George cut him off.

"Listen to me! Your son, Nihachu, and Quackity are currently on their way to death! If you do not listen to me, then your son will truly be dead." George glared at the emperor.

"I know you! You're George, the mole we had in the Dream SMP." The third man spoke up.

A rush of pain thudded in his skull. Memories tried to shove themselves up, but George shook his head.

"I can't remember anything from seven years ago, but I'll take your word for it." George shrugged.

"Is that... Ranboo? Nihachu's little brother?" The bubblegum haired man leaned forward.

"Ok, this is going nowhere. Will you help me get your son back or not?"

Phil leaned back on his heels as the words registered in his head. George could physically see when the information dawned on him. His dark wings physically shook in rage, and his face darkened.

"That man will die by my hand." Phil hissed out.

"Wait, Dream captured them!? Techno!" The brown-haired boy shouted and turned towards the pink-haired man.

"Wilbur, get the guards ready." Techno monotonously spoke, but George could hear the blood-lust in his voice.

Wilbur rushed off towards the guards, who had shuffled out of the room.

Phil took a deep breath and looked back over at George and Ranboo, "Ranboo can stay here. Niki's, uh,  _ friend  _ is here, and she can care for him."

George smirked and nodded before kneeling in front of Ranboo. They whispered between themselves, and Ranboo gave one last hug before being led away by a woman with overly curly hair.

"Can I request Dream not be killed?" George nervously spoke up while following Phil and Techno through the halls.

Phil looked over confusedly, "Why should I spare that man?"

"I don't think he did this out of cruelty. I think he might have been looking for me." George explained.

Phil tilted his head, so George continued to explain.

"My memories were removed by, who I think is the goddess, Clara. She spoke to me a few days before Tommy stumbled into my home and explained  _ she _ borrowed them."

Techno looked over as well after he explained, "Uh, why?"

"Revenge, against Dream, I think? After he stole Tommy's and the other's memories. I'm not truly sure since Clara is a bit nonplussed."

Phil nodded in agreement before waving a shorter boy over from where he stood. Small goat horns sat in hair.

"Tubbo! We found Tommy! Unfortunately, he got captured by Dream." Phil spoke quickly.

Tubbo stared at Phil for a second before anger grew on his face. The boy rushed off. Phil turned back towards George and motioned towards a horse already prepared for him.

"You can march with us to rescue the group captured by Dream."

George nodded along happily and swung himself up onto the horse. He shifted in his seat slightly and looked up when Techno trotted over on a horse.

"You weren't a mole for very long, but you did give us good information. So, I will, begrudgingly, trust you." The mostly monotone man sighed deeply.

George smiled slightly and held out a hand, which Techno took in a handshake. The two broke apart at Phil's call at the front of the growing group of men and women.

Wilbur had since returned on a horse of his own, and he sat proudly beside his father and Tubbo. George and Techno dutifully rode to the front lines of the army.

Reaching to his side, George smoothly pulled out an embellished ax from where it sat attached to the back of his belt. The purple metal gleamed in the light, and the green jewels on the hilt shone brightly. He ran his finger down the engraving on the side before tuning back into Phil's speech.

_ Nightmare _

As Phil wrapped up his words to the growing army, Techno raised his blade and spurred his horse into a gallop. In response, the troop hollered and rode forward to follow the emperor and princes.

They only rode for fifteen minutes when a group of wagons and horseback riders appeared on the horizon.

_ Waving the flag of the enemy as they rode. _

A bright red beacon pierced the blue sky, coming from one of the covered carts.

Phil folded his wings slightly the speed up his flight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOOOO BOY my writers block is still throttling me but I think I have two more chapters planned out I was just beating myself up over them. I should have them out V soon (Like a few mins) but after that it might be a little bit til the next upload. I do actually go to school n shit soooooo. Sorry for any mistakes!  
> Good night! Hydrate! (or diedrate)
> 
> Word Count: 825


	12. Oops! My plot relevance fell out of my pocket!

After around fifteen minutes of silence, Tommy grew increasingly bored. Dream had left his perch in front of the cage to lead the group on horseback. They got left to their own devices, so they leaned in together to come up with an escape plan.

Since they were at the very back of the formation, nobody was in front of the cage door, making a blind-spot. Quackity shuffled over as close to the cage door as he could get and slowly began the process of melting the lock.

After a few painstakingly long minutes, the lock finally fell from the door, being caught by Quackity's foot before it could touch the ground. Gently and slowly, he pushed the door open a bit. After the door got opened, he shuffled back over to the hook holding them.

He, once again, started melting the metal hook away from their chains. Unfortunately, the alloy began to sizzle from the heat. Smoke wafted up from Quackity's cupped hands. Tommy swore under his breath as the pungent smell floated up.

"HEY!" Sapnap had rounded the side of the cart on horseback and banged the cage door open wider.

Just as Sapnap banged the door open, Quackity had finished melting the hook off. Hefting it up, he launched it towards Sapnap's face and stumbled towards the opening. Niki and Tommy followed quickly, and the group started to leg it away from the carts.

They didn't make it far.

Tommy was quickly tripped by an arrow piercing his shoulder, sending him sprawling. Niki dug her feet into the ground to kneel next to Tommy. Quackity stopped but spread his wings to take flight before a spear clipped the top of his wing.

Dream hopped off his horse and strutted up to the fallen group of people. He leaned slightly down to stare at Niki, who sat protectively around the two hurt people.

"Well, then, that was a little dramatic, don't you think?" The white smiley mask glared into Niki's face.

"I hope you get what's coming for you." Niki ground out.

Dream responded by gripping Niki's hair and dragging her upwards slightly.

"I will tear you apart and put you back together if it means I have revenge for George."

Niki replied by spitting on Dream's mask. She was quickly dropped and then picked back up by two guards to get lugged into the cage. Quackity got tossed in after Niki got thrown, and he rolled towards the corner.

When Tommy got tossed in, his amulet rolled out from under his shirt. Instead of sitting up, he just reached over to grasp the charm and curl up slightly.

The colorless orb had a long crack in one area that had the only leaking of color; a bright green. Tommy ran his thumb over the split before gasping as colors began the light up the dull amulet. A beam shot out of the crack and pointed towards the ceiling, which was cover in a cloth.

Tommy shifted over to one of the sides and pushed a bit of the fabric aside to see where the beam pointed. Squinting slightly, he spotted a figure shooting through the sky towards them. Gripping his injury, Tommy started to laugh as he spotted the hundreds of incoming cavalry.

Niki and Quackity shuffled over and whispered excitedly as they too saw the troops coming ever so closer. The carts suddenly halted their movement, and Tommy could hear Dream shouting to his own men.

A man landed in a rush of feathers, and Tommy got abruptly hit with memories trying to force themselves up. Niki and Quackity also keeled over as pain thundered in their heads.

Dream sauntered forward, "Philza! We we're just-"

But Dream got cut off by an angry Phil, "Where is my son, Dream?"

Tommy gasped and tried to talk, but Dream raised his voice to speak over any attempt. As Dream and Phil began a shouting match, Tommy spotted a hiding George.

"How are we supposed to get their attention!?" Tommy whispered shouted toward the other two.

Niki hummed before turned Tommy towards Dream and Phil, "Just don't hold back."

"Huh?-"

Tommy got cut off by Niki twisting the arrow in his shoulder slightly. He opened his mouth a screeched as the pain bloomed up his neck.

"Sorry, Tommy," Niki whispered.

Phil whipped his head up to the screaming and rushed forward. Dream moved towards the running Phil but was stopped by Techno slamming him into the dirt.

Phil threw his hands up to haul the covers from the cage.

  
A sobbing Tommy looked back at the horrified Phil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok listen, ignore the like five edits I did to the chapter before this one LOL
> 
> Word Count: 769 (Nice)


	13. PHIL'S GONNA GO BEAT SOME PEOPLE FOR HIS KIDS

Tommy ducked his head, panting from the pain before looking up to catch Phil's eyes. Phil just stared at him for a second before lifting a hand to touch the amulet he hand in his hands.

Tommy collapsed forward onto the metal bars, and Niki gently peeled him off the cold bars. Phil stepped away from the cage and turned towards Dream, his face darkening.

As Phil pattered over, Dream struggled against Techno, who only pushed him deeper into the dirt. Phil kneeled in front of Dream and glared down at the crumpled man.

Phil had just opened his mouth to speak when Dream interrupted, "You won't be walking away with them. So, get that idea out of your fucking head."

Techno raised an eyebrow before his eyes widened, and he launched forward to pull himself and Phil away from an attacking Sapnap. A spear got stabbed into the ground where Phil once stood.

The two stood panting as more of Dream's soldiers came forward to swarm the leader to protect him. The Empire's own soldiers moved forwards on horseback.

A tense air blanketed the area, and both sides stood in a silent standoff. Dream tilted his masked head in a taunting manner.

After a few more seconds of silence, it was shattered by Dream letting out a sharp whistle. At the whistle, Dream hefted up his sword and rushed forward. Before Phil or Techno registered what was happening, George was falling off his horse to get in between the fight about to break out.

"Dream! Enough!" He screeched and slid to a stop a few feet in front of Dream.

"Wha-"

"No! For once in your life, stop using people to justify your decisions!"

Dream just stared before lifting a hand to pull his mask off. His face was covered in a giant burn scar running from his hairline down to his collar. He lurched forward with his arms out, but George only pulled away. George lifted an arm and pulled it back before swinging forward to sucker punch Dream.

"I see they really have brainwashed you." Dream spat out while rubbing his jaw.

"Dream!" George yelled before glaring angrily at him.

"I left on my own accord. What happened to 'power corrupts,' You used to say that before you fell victim to it!"

George glared again as memories shoved themselves back into his mind. They swirled, and instead of the memories quelling his anger, they only pushed him to become angrier.

"You told me that when you became leader that you would be better than that tyrant! But instead, you've become worse!" George shouted as tears pricked in the corners of his eyes.

Dream shuddered and dropped to his knees to stare sadly at George.

  


\---Meanwhile (About ten feet away)---

Tommy leaned against Niki's shoulder as she ran a hand through his messy hair. She whispered apologies as Quackity slowly started working on opening the door again. Quackity moved slowly to keep pain from his injury to a minimum.

His fire studdered before it got put out by Quackity clenching his hand closed. He shuffled a bit to lean back before shoving forward to bang the door open with his shoulder.

The door banged open, and Quackity caught himself before he fell out of the opening. Niki looked up and moved over to the door with Tommy leaning against her.

They sat in the dirt for a few seconds before one of Dream's knights approached them with an unsheathed sword. He raised his sword to slam down on Quackity but was stopped by a knight wearing The Empire's signal sliding his blade onto the other.

The knights pushed against each other for a few more minutes before a sharp yell had Dream's knight falling away from the group. The few people watching the scuffle turned towards Dream.

"Let them be. Stand back, soldier." Dream stood tall and glared down at the sputtering knight.

A few of The Empire's witches moved forward with armfuls of potions and bandages. They kneeled around Quackity and Tommy and gently started to soothe their injuries while Dream and George argued. Niki helped some of the witches snap off the wooden shaft of the arrow in Tommy's shoulder.

George took a deep breath and went quiet for a few seconds. He closed his eyes and mulled over the memories that were returning to his mind.

"I  _ just  _ want to go home, Dream. And so do your  _ mandated _ _ soldiers _ ." George whispered before hissing the last words.

"...ok," Dream whispered back and stood to approach George.

They stood hugging for a few seconds before George pulled away to turn back towards Techno and Phil. He pattered over slowly.

"I'll take care of him. I promise this won't happen again. The SMP won't be a dictatorship anymore." George spoke softly and shook both Phil and Techno's hands.

Phil nodded with a smile, and Techno just grunted. George returned to Dream's side and wrapped an arm around Dream's held out bicep. They led Dream's knights away from The Empire's forces and back across their border.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, we are approaching the end! OwU. I'll be sappy in the epilogue. I have one more chapter for today so look out for that. That's all the DNF you get until the epilogue LOL. Sorry for any mistakes
> 
> Word Count: 847


	14. The Beginning Of The End

After Dream got taken back to his SMP, Tommy, Quackity, and Niki got transported back to The Empire's capital. Tommy had passed out while the witches were working on his injuries, so Phil and Techno kept their distance. Wilbur, on the other hand, sat in the cart and helped the witches slow the bleeding.

After a few minutes of silence, Techno swung himself into the cart and sat next to Niki. She leaned in her head to speak quietly to the man.

"Are your memories back?" He whispered while staring blankly at Tommy's waxy face.

"Most are back, I think. Some are still a bit fuzzy." Niki explained softly.

Techno hummed, "We left Ranboo with Puffy. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you again."

Niki's eyes widened, and her face flushed with red, "O-oh! Right, with Puffy."

Techno leaned back and hummed a teasing tone, "And I'm sure Puffy will be ecstatic to see you."

Niki just ducked her burning face into her knees and nodded.

"Do you think he'll have a fast recovery?"

Niki lifted her head, "I think he fainted from a combo of memories returning and the injury. He's a strong kid."

Techno nodded, "I hope he remembers some good things."

"From the snippets that came up, he loves you very much." Niki glanced up at Techno, noticing his nerves.

Techno glanced over to Niki before returning his gaze to Tommy. He let out a shaky breath before moving to sit on his knees.

"Thank you for talking with me, Nihachu."

"Please, call me Niki."

Techno dipped his head slightly and shuffled to the opening of the cart. He nodded to Wilbur on his way out before hopping off.

Niki watched Techno leave before moving to sit next to Quackity. The feathers on his wings looked bent and ruffled. She gently held out a hand, and he slowly extended one of them for her to preen.

Running her hands through the weirdly familiar motions, she began to zone out.

\---About twenty minutes later---

As the army pulled back into the capital, they saw people waving banners of victory and raining petals and confetti from their windows. People stood on the edges of the moving cavalry. Once they spotted the princes and Phil, their excited shouts became louder.

Phil lowered his flightpath to soar over the tops of the houses. He waved down to some of the people before landing in the empty courtyard of the castle.

The rest of the army slowly trickled in before dispersing away to the barracks of the palace. The witches led the cart that held the rescued royals to a side entrance of the medical wing.

Quackity and Tommy got swiftly taken into the house, and Niki stood awkwardly by the cart, watching them go. Wilbur pattered over to her.

"Hey, Niki, it's been a while, huh?" He spoke nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.

She stared at his face as a few memories swirled before she pulled him into a tight hug. He choked as she squeezed his abdomen.

"I fucking forgot how strong you were!" He stifled out.

She dropped him from the hug and leaned back to look him over, "You've grown! Though, I always knew you would."

Wilbur laughed, "Do you remember when you started working for us? Without telling anyone you were a princess!"

"I wanted some real-world experience."

They laughed for a few minutes before a voice piped up from behind her.

"Niki? Is it really you?"

Turning around, Niki spotted Puffy standing nervously with a hand covering her mouth. Ranboo stood to her side, tears rolling down his happy cheeks.

"Niki!" He raced over and slammed into her stomach.

She groaned on impact and leaned down to spin him around. She stopped spinning him and looked back up at the now crying Puffy.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Niki ran forward to collapse into Puffy's open arms. They stood embracing before Niki leaned back and placed a hand on Puffy's cheek, wiping her tears away.

\---A little while later---

Tommy woke up with his head pounding, not a good thing in his books, and ravenously hungry. The sun was slowly setting outside the window to his left, and the lanterns in the street were turning on. He lugged himself upwards and sat still to nurse his spinning head.

Moving slowly, he stepped onto the cold marble tiles and pattered over to the door. On his way over, he passed by the sleeping Quackity in his own cot.

He slipped out of the room and paused before feet moved on muscle memory. He made many twists and turns in the long winding hall before landing in a small kitchen. It wasn't the  _ main  _ kitchen of the castle his mind supplied, but it at least had food in it.

He rummaged through the pantry and pulled out multiple bags of snacks and sweets. Hopping up onto the counter, he dug into the food. Blinking back sleepiness from his eyes, he looked over at the disappearing sun over the horizon.

Chewing on a few cookies, he looked up as the lights got suddenly thrown on. Techno and Wilbur stared back at him from the doorway. He swallowed his foot and leaned back to lay on the counters. They walked into the kitchen and moved towards the pantry themselves.

"Hi, Theseus," Techno mumbled and took a cookie from Wilbur's hand.

"It's Tommy, Big T," Tommy grumbled and continued to stuff his face with food.

"Right, Tommy." Techno glanced over nervously.

Wilbur walked over and hopped up onto the counter across from Tommy. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak before being cut off by Tommy.

"I do remember you, you know," Tommy spoke softly and turned to face the window instead of his brothers.

"I..." Wilbur stuttered.

"I didn't get a lot of snippets of memories, but when I did they... I love you, really, I promise." Tommy started, but his voice was shaky towards the end.

"Tommy..." Wilbur smiled and shuffled over to Tommy.

"I missed you, and I never even realized it."

Wilbur moved over to hug the now sitting up Tommy. Techno walked over as well and joined the hug, albeit a little stiff. Tommy let out a shaky breath and melted into the hug.

A quiet knock sounded from the doorway, and Tommy looked up to spot Phil. Phil stepped over to the group and placed a hand on Tommy's back.

"Dad..." Tommy sobbed and threw himself into Phil's open arms.

Techno and Wilbur smiled softly and moved back into the group hug.

Tommy took a few deep breaths and fell asleep in his dad's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo writing good father figures? Uh harder than you think! Anyway! We are on the home stretch and the epilogue should be fun so. Look out for that coming soon! Puffychu? Puffychu.
> 
> Word Count: 1,123


	15. Where We Will Go (Epilogue)

To say Tommy had an easy move into the palace would be a lie. The difference between growing up in the countryside and the lavish royal life was stark.

Despite the eleven years of memories returning to him, he still lived as if he was in the countryside. He waved off maids and butlers begging to help him and instead fumbled through things on his own. Phil was just as exasperated as the servants at first, but he became untroubled with it over time.

The maids still asked if they could help, but with less begging.

Dream had destroyed the spell that held his and the rest of the group's memories hostage. They got warned ahead of time when the spell would get broken and the possibility they might pass out.

Once his memories were finally secure in his mind, he reconnected with the people he got separated from.

Reuniting with Tubbo was a day full of happy tears and making mischief. They snuck out to the town and wandered for a bit before being caught by a guard. They were hauled back to the castle and lightly scolded by Phil, who was mostly scolding them through happy tears.

After two weeks of nursing headaches and reuniting with friends, The Antarctic Empire hosted their alliance festival with Dream SMP. George, Sapnap, and Dream had brought some of their people over to The Empire's capital to celebrate.

Tommy's day was spent in stuffy, heavy clothes to celebrate with his people. He watched excitedly as people spun through the streets to dance to the band's music ringing through the city. He and Tubbo scared a poor food stand worker by popping up and slamming down too much money for food.

As the sun began to set, they got called back to the palace for the ball. Wilbur held him back to nitpick his outfit for a few minutes before he was allowed into the ballroom.

Walking in, he waved to Quackity, who stood in a group of other golden-winged people. The crown on his head glittered in the light, and he smiled brightly before turning away.

Niki and Puffy danced together with Ranboo laughing as he got pulled into the dance. Niki's dress was beautiful sea green, and her crown was covered in coral-colored gems. Puffy's curly white hair was pulled back from her face. Her wine-colored pantsuit complemented Niki's dress.

George was spun around the room by a laughing Dream. His light blue embroidered suit blended slightly with Dream's hideous lime green suit. (He wore it because George begged him not to)

He paled slightly before smiling widely as he spotted Bad and Skeppy hanging off of each other. He laughed as they spotted him as well and waved to him.

Tubbo waved at him from the other side of the room. Shuffling around the crowd of dancers, he spotted a familiar figure lounging next to Tubbo.

"Drista! Haven't seen you ages, you child!" He smiled and clapped her hand in a high-five.

"You're the child here, Tomathy." She crossed her arms and scoffed.

"Drista, you are  _ literally  _ sixteen. I am eighteen!" He whined.

"All right, all right," Tubbo raised his arms to separate them.

"Hey, you wanna ditch this place?" Drista leaned to the side slightly.

"Fuck yeah! Phil will kill me, but it'll be worth it!" Tommy smiled widely and nudged the group towards a secluded balcony.

Drista leaned over the railing and watched as Tubbo and Tommy slowly climbed down into the gardens. She groaned and fiddled with her dress before shouting down to the boys.

"Look away for a sec so I can keep my dignity at least somewhat!"

They turned around as she began her own shitty descent into the clearing. Once she landed, she ran with the two others over to a clearing in the gardens.

The clearing had a fenced area with a view overlooking the city below them. The sun finally disappeared beneath the horizon, and the town began the fireworks show they scheduled.

With his arms around Tubbo and Drista's shoulders, Tommy welcomed his family back into his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOOO there is NO romance between any of the minors (i.e Tommy, Tubbo, or Drista) ya fuckin nasties. Hope you enjoyed this series!! Now I can finally do something else holy shit. I think this is one of my longest ones so eeehhhh. I still enjoyed every minute of writing this. I do think I might be sticking to shorter series' or one-shots so eeeeee. THANK YOU LOVE YOU. Sorry for any mistakes  
> Word Count: 687
> 
> Ignore me inability to write father figures. It's daddy issues luv


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